"A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away..." Thus begins, as one of the best Blockbusters, the journey through time searching for the origins and the episodes that made our beloved Stars famous.
There're mainly three periods that identify these 128 years of history and I exploit the titles of a cult film trilogy very dear to me, which certainly needs no introduction: STAR WARS… also because, always and in any case, we talk about Stars!
Are you ready? Cup of popcorn in your hand and have a good vision… ehm, reading!
A NEW HOPE
Why these words? Simply... the advent of the nice motorized and horseless "carriages" born at the end of the 19th century has literally changed people's way of life, creating expectations and above all NEW HOPES.
But let's go step by step...
Contrary to what one might believe or think, the origins of MotorSport are much further back than 1948, the year in which F1 was officially born, which will become the world championship in 1950.
In fact, since the end of the 19th century, daring "knights" armed with goggles and elegant leather "hats" loved to engage in single fights aboard nice cars that, yes, they moved quickly, but they certainly couldn't know that they would be the ancestors of the modern "ground-to-ground missiles" that we see whizzing on circuits all over the world.
It was in those years that Mercedes began to link its name to that of sports competitions.
Officially, the house of the three-pointed star was born in 1926 thanks to the merger of the Benz and Daimler brands: the latter, however, already used the name Mercedes for its cars since 1902. In fact, in that year Emil Jellinek - console of Austro-Hungarian Empire in Nice (France) - ordered 36 racing cars. The engines proved to be extremely performing and powerful (could be there any doubts? I add as Fuori di... Stella), so as to induce the console to ask to be able to call these engines by the first name of his daughter: precisely... MERCEDES.
Lost in the mists of memories, it was the year 1894 and historical reconstructions cite the 126 km Paris-Rouen competition, as the debut race for the BENZ & Cie cars of the homonymous engineer Karl Benz. Incidentally, I specify that due to problems he was not even able to take part in the race, but we know that it is part of the game of technological research ... and anyway, you can't always win!
In 1901 in Nice the Star takes its first success in a competition. The Mercedes 35 PS stands out thanks to a very important step forward in the field of automotive engineering: in fact, the nice 35 PS was fast thanks to the first careful studies on the impact of moving weights, and at the same time it was safe ... obviously by the standards of the period!
In 1903 it secured success in what is considered the first great motoring trophy: the Gordon-Bennet Cup. Thanks to the Belgian driver Camille Jenatzi, the Star won on the Irish circuit. In the next two editions, it got a second and a fifth place.
MERCEDES GRAND PRIX
July 7, 1908 is an extremely important date: the Mercedes GRAND PRIX won the GRAND PRIX DE FRANCE, driven by Lautenschlager, and it was the first success in one of the races that 40 years later would have taken the name of F1.
The three-years period 1909-1912 saw our beloved Star not officially participate in the Grand Prix: the drivers who drove the German cars had mixed fortunes!
1913 was a brief year of transition which saw Mercedes officially re-enter racing until 1914. The Mercedes GRAND PRIX achieved a resounding final victory (exactly, those cars occupied all three steps of the podium) at the GRAND PRIX DE FRANCE in 1914. .. precisely on July 14 ... coincidence or not, it was a real Storming of the Bastille!
AN ERA IS OVER
The First World War specter was upon us and with it all sporting activities were stopped until the mid-1920s. However, not yet sated with glory, the Mercedes GRAND PRIX won the Indianapolis 500 in 1915 (driver Ralph De Palma), the Gentlemen Grand Prix of 1921 and the Targa Florio of 1922: the now "obsolete" car of the Star was awarded these last two competitions thanks to the Italian driver Giuliano Masetti.
The NEW HOPE had finally revealed itself and "THE FORCE IS STRONG WITH THIS ONE!"
Stay connected... very, very soon the chapter 2...
"THE EMPIRE STRIKES AGAIN!"
-A very special thanks to STAR WARS saga by George Lucas-
LUCA PATRONE
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